Faculty Spotlight: Zac Cox

On 4/18/2013

Dr. Zachary L. Cox is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice in the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Cox received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 2008. Since graduation, Dr. Cox has completed a pharmacy practice residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center focusing on critical care and internal medicine and holds board certification as a pharmacotherapy specialist. Dr. Cox coordinates the infectious disease pharmacotherapy course and the drug-induced disease elective. In addition to teaching in these courses,he also has teaching responsibilities in the cardiovascular pharmacotherapy course and teaches individualized antibiotic dosing and kinetics in the biopharmaceutics course. He also serves as an APPE preceptor for fourth year students and PGY2 cardiology residents in his practice site.

Dr. Cox holds a clinical pharmacist appointment with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he provides patient care with an inpatient heart failure team of physicians. Additionally, he participates in the Vanderbilt Program for Inter-Professional Learning clinic, treating heart failure patients with a multi-disciplinary team of students in a weekly clinic.

Dr. Cox has published research in the areas of aminoglycoside clinical decision support and medication adverse events during acute kidney injury. His current research projects include: electronic identification of heart failure inpatients, comparing intravenous and inhaled milrinone formulations, evaluating the impact of renal dysfunction on inotrope adverse events, and the use of argatroban in Stage D heart failure patients awaiting cardiac transplantation.

He and his wife, Emily, were married in 2004 and they have two children.

christian heritage

I was raised as a pastor’s son in a wonderful home, which I naturally perceived as a prison from the ages of 13 to 18. Despite my rebellious nature, my parents were great mentors, and I accepted Christ as my savior at a young age. I find infinite comparisons between our care of patients and the relationships we have with Jesus. In every non-compliant patient, I can see my own disappointments in my walk with Christ. Likewise, I have had the opportunity to witness true medical miracles that reflect the miraculous way Jesus can save us from our darkest circumstances. I find that if we look to our profession to remind us of our relationship with Jesus, disappointments do not lead us so easily to medical cynicism and will remind us that difficult patients deserve our attention and care despite their past actions. It is my hope that during our time together we will be able to remind each other that through Christ all things are possible, even remembering to take medication